As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Computer fucked

RaneadosRaneados police apologistyou shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
edited January 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
I'm trying to burn some videos to a DVD, and just finished converting them to DVD format from AVI. But as soon as the converter finished, my computer shut itself off and won't turn back on.

I press the ON button and it starts up for like 5 seconds and then turns itself off


I am none too pleased

Raneados on
«1

Posts

  • homeobockshomeobocks Registered User regular
    edited December 2006
    Any beeping? If so, look up in your motherboard's manual or BIOS manufacturer's web site to see what the beep pattern means.

    Any message on screen?

    homeobocks on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2006
    leaving it alone for a second seems to have fixed it, it seems. I did a system restore and it looks alright now


    :/

    weird

    Raneados on
  • GrimmGrimm Registered User regular
    edited December 2006
    Could it be heat related? Letting it alone for a bit like you did might just have let it cool down.

    Grimm on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2006
    I'm guessing it was heat related


    the problem seems to have solved itself




    huzzah!

    Raneados on
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2006
    Pop it open and clean it out. You could have like dust bunnies screwing your fan. Plus uh, cleaning it will super improve its ventilation and cooling

    Dynagrip on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2006
    I'm not taking your advice, mister meltdown

    Raneados on
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    I'm not taking your advice, mister meltdown
    Uh huh. Well, that is certainly your choice. Not particularly wise or anything, but you know, whatever.

    Dynagrip on
  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Cleaning the dust out of your computer semi-regularly is pretty normal computer maintenance advice, especially for heat problems.

    A can of compressed air is helpful, but not necessary.

    Corvus on
    :so_raven:
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    Corvus wrote:
    Cleaning the dust out of your computer semi-regularly is pretty normal computer maintenance advice, especially for heat problems.

    A can of compressed air is helpful, but not necessary.
    First time I did it there was a terrifying amount of dust. Like a frigging small mound. If you have allergies, you might want to get one of those masks.

    Dynagrip on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    If I could, I'd like to resurrect this thread. Because it seems to be happening again

    I came back to my dorm after the weekend at home, and turned on my computer, I decided to play EVE, as I still needed to get through the tutorial. It was running a little choppy so I switched it to Windowed mode. And started playing, but about 10 seconds after I had switched it, my computer turned itself off. I pressed the power button to turn it back on but it turned itself off after a few seconds. After a few more tries experimenting with different times between turn-on attempts, it seems to fare better after a while sitting there, but not always. I tried 2 system restores but the computer always turns itself off like 1/3 of the way through, so I can't get it all the way there. I tried starting it up on one occasion and going straight to normal (nonsafe mode0. It didn't cut out, so I started adavare, sybot, and Norton virus checker. However, the computer turned off while these were running.

    I haven't used the thing in a few days and it's been running fine beforehand (except for the similar occurence like 2 weeks ago in the OP)

    Specs if I can remember them

    RAM: 512
    Space remaining: about 15 Gigs
    Pentium 4 Processor
    Radeon 9600Pro video card.
    Computer is about 3 years old


    Is this a power supply or heat problem? if so: how can I help it? Preferrebly with least amount of money spent, each dollar I'm going to spend is less money for groceries. My Budget is tight as hell right now.

    Any help would be awesome, as this issue only just reared it's head 2 weeks ago with my OP, and now it seems to be a reoccuring problem.

    Raneados on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I see Dyna's suggestion and will probably listen to him, but anything else I can get would be aces.

    Q: Just pop open the case and clean with _____?
    Being careful of _____?
    Do not kill myself by _______ (I'm gonna unplug it, I know that much)


    I'm not exactly computer savvy, so retard terminology, please.

    Raneados on
  • ffordefforde Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    If you have no compressed air, just get a few sheets of paper and wave it in front of it to blow all the clumped up dust out. Don't spray anything on it, just blow on it a little. To do a better job go buy a can of compressed air from Office Depot for something like $2.

    EDIT: To further clarify, focus on any and all fans you see. If you see any fans that look like they may have been blocked by dust then this is almost certainly your main issue. Get rid of all dust bunnies and then focus on heat sinks (metal fixtures that have closely spaced fins on them). For these you may need a can of air to clean it properly. Unplug the power cable first as well.

    If you do touch anything make sure you ground yourself first. Basically that just means briefly touch a metal part of the computer case. You don't have to continuously touch it. What you are doing is discharging any static build up you have generated from dragging your feet on the carpet. This is for your computer's sake, not your own. But you really wont need to touch anything once you open your case.

    fforde on
  • tsmvengytsmvengy Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    From what it looks like, I would pretty much guarantee your problem is dust-related. Probably clogging up the heatsink and making the processor overheat and shut down the computer. Get some compressed air at Radio Shack, Office Depot, anywhere like that.

    To clean out dust you will need:
      - 1 can compressed air (any computer-related place has this) - screwdriver to open your case
    Turn off the power supply (switch on the back of the computer)
    Unplug it
    Open it
    Spray around with the can of air. Places to spray include:
      - the heatsink for your processor (LOTS OF DUST HERE) - around the case fans - in the video card fan

    I usually hold the fans to prevent them from moving when I spray (I've heard that the air moving them around can be bad).

    Also, be careful when you spray with the air can. You must hold it upright, or evil liquid will come out. Read the directions on the can.

    Have fun!

    tsmvengy on
    steam_sig.png
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    okay, I am very hopeful for the cheapness


    thanks guys (and sorry to Dyna for not listening to him earlier, seriously, my bad, duder)


    I am off to find a can of compressed air for 2 dollars and some nonstatic cloths

    Raneados on
  • DeusfauxDeusfaux Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    tsmvengy wrote:
    Turn off the power supply (switch on the back of the computer)
    Unplug it





    whoa what the fuck are you doing. you leave it plugged in to keep everything grounded

    Deusfaux on
  • tsmvengytsmvengy Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Eh, can't say I've had any problems ever with grounding - I suppose you probably should leave it plugged in, but I usually just take off my socks and make sure to touch the metal on the case every 30 seconds or so to ground myself.

    tsmvengy on
    steam_sig.png
  • _X__X_ Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I hope Deus is joking with his post because if you're working with anything inside the case it should definately be unplugged completely. Just dont be touching the parts if you're standing on a carpet or something similar and you don't have to worry about electric discharge onto your parts causing hardware problems.

    _X_ on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I am posting from it as we speak

    it's looking promising but I'm not holding my breath until at least a few hours on extended use

    there was a shitload of dust in there, though, almost used a whole can of air

    I brought it outside with shoes on, on pavement, and touched the metal every half minute or so, I am not leaving jack plugged in, I am not looking to get electrocuted

    Raneados on
  • GrimmGrimm Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    _X_ wrote:
    I hope Deus is joking with his post because if you're working with anything inside the case it should definately be unplugged completely. Just dont be touching the parts if you're standing on a carpet or something similar and you don't have to worry about electric discharge onto your parts causing hardware problems.

    Actually, i think he is right.

    Grimm on
  • Sir Red of the MantiSir Red of the Manti Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    I am posting from it as we speak

    it's looking promising but I'm not holding my breath until at least a few hours on extended use

    there was a shitload of dust in there, though, almost used a whole can of air

    I brought it outside with shoes on, on pavement, and touched the metal every half minute or so, I am not leaving jack plugged in, I am not looking to get electrocuted

    Touching the case doesn't help if it's not grounded to something. When the comp is plugged in, the ground leading from the power supply to the wall outlet is connected, which allows static on the case to go somewhere. If you're that paranoid about frying yourself, touch the power supply before you unplug the comp, but know that you're not going to be able to re-ground yourself on the comp again until you plug it back in.

    Sir Red of the Manti on
  • robaalrobaal Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    You can probably check the temperature of the CPU with something like Motherboard Monitor 5, Everest (there's a free version floating around the internet) or some software the manufacturer of your motherboard might have provided. Failing that you should be able to check it in the BIOS.

    Generally, you'd want to keep it below 60°C when it's doing something. If it's higher than that then you can try changing the thermal paste on it as it dries out with age. Even the cheap white stuff will be good enough, though the better ones (eg. Arctic Silver 5) aren't very expensive either.


    You can also check if the voltages - the above programs should let you do it, or again - there's probably a menu in the BIOS that will show them. They should be within 5% of the target value, with +12V and +5V being the more important ones. Just remember that these readings aren't totally precise.

    robaal on
    "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra when suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
    At night, the ice weasels come."

  • WylderWylder Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Heres a tip for the incredibly stupid.

    A friend of mine cleaned the dust out of his computer using a feather duster. You know those things that attract the dust via static electricity as you rub it on stuff? Yeah, he got that and gave his cards and fans etc a good old sweeping.

    No. His computer never turned on again.


    Dont use a duster.

    Wylder on
    No sig for you!
  • robaalrobaal Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Wylder wrote:
    Dont use a duster.

    A vacuum cleaner can also produce static electricity btw.

    robaal on
    "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra when suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
    At night, the ice weasels come."

  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I think it turned itself off again while I was out playing soccer


    I only saw 2 fans inside the thing, one in plain view and one at the back, did I miss one?

    Raneados on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    just downloaded speedfan

    Fan 1: 245750 RPM
    Fan 2: 0 RPM

    Ambient: 33C
    Remote 1: 57C
    Remote 2: 31C
    HD0: 31C

    I assume 57 is high, what with the icon next to it and all, but I dunno what remote 1/2/Hd0 is

    also why my 2nd fan isn't moving

    Raneados on
  • DeusfauxDeusfaux Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    I think it turned itself off again while I was out playing soccer


    I only saw 2 fans inside the thing, one in plain view and one at the back, did I miss one?


    case fans, check front, top side and back of case

    cpu fan, the one facing teh side or back of the case in the middle

    gpu fan, on the underside of the gpu

    might be a chipset (on the mobo) fan as well.

    go into the bios (delete during bootup normally) and check your temperatures

    it could be a PSU (power supply) issue as well



    that temp is pretty high, it is probably getting higher under loads and might be causing your problem.

    the 2nd fan isnt reporting any speed because its likely not hooked into the motherboard in any way. probably only your cpu fan is

    Deusfaux on
  • robaalrobaal Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    I only saw 2 fans inside the thing, one in plain view and one at the back, did I miss one?

    That's besides the ones on the CPU and video card?

    There might be one at the front - near the hard drive(s), but I think the dust hurts most if it's on the heatsinks... unless there's enough of it that it clogs up the intake grill or something.

    robaal on
    "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra when suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
    At night, the ice weasels come."

  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I had a video card installed a few years back

    the only thing I saw on it that looked even remotely like a fan was a dark grey block segmented into pillar-like things

    the fans I saw was
    1) on the back, near the top, build into the case, this lead from an enclosed box

    2) One that was facing me when I opened the panel of my computer, which I am assuming is the heatsink

    :/

    Raneados on
  • robaalrobaal Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    I had a video card installed a few years back

    the only thing I saw on it that looked even remotely like a fan was a dark grey block segmented into pillar-like things
    But you wrote that you have a Radeon 9600Pro?
    Some video cards are passively cooled - just a heatsink without a fan on it - but it's relatively rare.

    1) on the back, near the top, build into the case, this lead from an enclosed box
    The "box" is the power supply. You should be able to tell if the fan is blowing by feeling the air move.

    2) One that was facing me when I opened the panel of my computer, which I am assuming is the heatsink
    That would be the processor heatsink. Have you used the compressed air on the heatsink that the fan is mounted on?


    Anyway, it seems that there's no case fan in your PC, so you could get one if there's space for it (there's usually one at the back, near all the motherboard ports). The common case-fan sizes are 80mm, 92mm and 120mm and there should be an extra connector on the motherboard for one (they usually use a similar/identical 3-holed plug like one on the CPU fan).

    robaal on
    "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra when suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
    At night, the ice weasels come."

  • DeusfauxDeusfaux Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    no case fan would be kinda crazy

    like driving with no seatbelt, ran

    Deusfaux on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    robaal wrote:
    Raneados wrote:
    I had a video card installed a few years back

    the only thing I saw on it that looked even remotely like a fan was a dark grey block segmented into pillar-like things
    But you wrote that you have a Radeon 9600Pro?
    Some video cards are passively cooled - just a heatsink without a fan on it - but it's relatively rare.

    1) on the back, near the top, build into the case, this lead from an enclosed box
    The "box" is the power supply. You should be able to tell if the fan is blowing by feeling the air move.

    2) One that was facing me when I opened the panel of my computer, which I am assuming is the heatsink
    That would be the processor heatsink. Have you used the compressed air on the heatsink that the fan is mounted on?


    Anyway, it seems that there's no case fan in your PC, so you could get one if there's space for it (there's usually one at the back, near all the motherboard ports). The common case-fan sizes are 80mm, 92mm and 120mm and there should be an extra connector on the motherboard for one (they usually use a similar/identical 3-holed plug like one on the CPU fan).

    I'm pretty sure there's no fan on the card

    the air is blowing from the Power supply fan, but it feels warm, and weak, and it doesn't feel like the whole fan is blowing, just one side of it

    my computer's been fine for 3 or so years, how come it's just started being weird now, even after I've dusted?

    Raneados on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    running bios, it says it's up to about 107 F degrees now, but it seems to be running smoother now

    time will tell

    Raneados on
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    okay, I am very hopeful for the cheapness


    thanks guys (and sorry to Dyna for not listening to him earlier, seriously, my bad, duder)


    I am off to find a can of compressed air for 2 dollars and some nonstatic cloths
    Not a problem. I am due to clean mine...but I don't wanna. It's running ok and man, that shit will have me congested for a week.

    Hopefully just a cleaning and stuff will hold your computer together long enough for you to save some bucks.

    Dynagrip on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    it seems to be running okayish now, albeit maybe a little hot

    I'm gonna do a full clean tomorrow, likes, several cans worth + losing conciousness from blowing my own air

    that 106F wasn't F

    it's C

    106 C

    now it's down to 93 C with some fudging of my fans

    anyone know the cutoff degree for a forced shutdown?

    Raneados on
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    I don't think you're going to get much more with continued cans. I mean, it can only hold so much dust and getting it sparkling isn't going to make a shit. I would imagine the Danger Zone that you are watching out for is highly dependent on your motherboard and videocard as well as even the application of the thermal paste shit.

    One way to just help it out is to leave the case off and possible move a fan near it, like a box fan or something. You can't get better circulation than that. Of course, pets and really young siblings can make that an awful idea.

    Dynagrip on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    temperature 88 and dropping, I think this is solved


    again

    D:

    if it gets to it, I'll check out the paste and the case removal

    thanks dudes

    Raneados on
  • DynagripDynagrip Break me a million hearts HoustonRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    Keep in mind that temperature is also dependent on use. If you start playing an intense game, your motherboard and graphics card are working harder...light foruming may not give you the most accurate picture as to the robustness of your solution, but good luck on getting away with the cheap option for this kind of crap.

    Dynagrip on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    damnit

    stupid

    games

    D:<

    Raneados on
  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    might be related:

    videos now run very choppily, would this be related at all?

    fix for this? I have the new drivers

    Raneados on
  • DeusfauxDeusfaux Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Raneados wrote:
    it seems to be running okayish now, albeit maybe a little hot

    I'm gonna do a full clean tomorrow, likes, several cans worth + losing conciousness from blowing my own air

    that 106F wasn't F

    it's C

    106 C

    now it's down to 93 C with some fudging of my fans

    anyone know the cutoff degree for a forced shutdown?


    jesus fucking christ dude, thats hot.

    for reference

    my cpu idles in the mid 30's, under load gets to the mid 40's

    mid 50's and id start freaking out a bit

    anything in the 60's is trouble


    for starters, you NEED a case fan. I am sort of stunned your pc doesnt. the PSU fan is only for the PSU, and proc fan/heatsink only moves heat off the proc and into the case.

    that hot air is still stuck in the case! so like robaal said, your case takes 80 92 or 120 mm fan. they'd be like $10-20 type thing

    Deusfaux on
Sign In or Register to comment.